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arXiv · 1608.01638

A Modified Stern-Gerlach Experiment Using a Quantum Two-State Magnetic Field

R. G. Daghigh·M. D. Green·C. J. West
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Abstract

The Stern-Gerlach experiment has played an important role in our understanding of quantum behavior. We propose and analyze a modified version of this experiment where the magnetic field of the detector is in a quantum superposition, which may be experimentally realized using a superconducting flux qubit. We show that if incident spin-$1/2$ particles couple with the two-state magnetic field, a discrete target distribution results that resembles the distribution in the classical Stern-Gerlach experiment. As an application of the general result, we compute the distribution for a square waveform of the incident fermion. This experimental setup allows us to establish: (1) the quantization of the intrinsic angular momentum of a spin-$1/2$ particle, and (2) a correlation between EPR pairs leading to nonlocality, without necessarily collapsing the particle's spin wavefunction.

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R. G. Daghigh, M. D. Green, C. J. West. 2016-08-04. A Modified Stern-Gerlach Experiment Using a Quantum Two-State Magnetic Field. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rinp.2018.03.022

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